In 1961, Bob moved to Victoria for work and, after riding in a couple of meetings there, was approached by Australian Motocross legend John Burrows who asked Bob to show him the art of jumping.  Bob agreed, but only if John showed him how to race in the mud!

While interstate, Bob met up with six-time Australian Motocross Champion Charlie West before Charlie moved to England to race international motocross in 1962.

Charlie and his father came to Bob’s rescue at the Queensland State Championships, loaning him a brand new 350cc BSA Gold star when officials would not let Bob race because his bike didn’t have a wooden number plate.  The West Aussies blitzed all the other riders at that meeting.  Charlie then talked Bob into returning to WA to ride Manjimup, which he did.

Bob returned to Queensland in 1963 to contest the Australian Motocross Championships at Archerfield in Brisbane, where he won the 250cc and 500cc classes.  That same year he also won the South Australian State 500cc Motocross Championships at Snake Gully and the Geraldton Open Scramble back in WA.

In 1964, he won the Geraldton Open Scramble back-to-back, his first WA State Short Circuit Championship in the 500cc class at Mandurah and twice finished on the podium at the Australian Motocross Championships in Tasmania, where he finished second in the Unlimited and third in the 350cc titles.   

Bob was robbed off a third Australian Motocross title in the Unlimited class at this event.  The wet and muddy track conditions in Tasmania provide tricky for the inexperienced race officials, with the timing team consisting of two people standing on the back of a utility in the pouring rain.

Bob was at least a lap in front of the rest of the field in the Unlimited Championship, lapping Victorian Ian Gaff, who the officials eventually awarded the race win to.  

After the meeting, Bob set sail home to Perth in Western Australia, crossing the Tasman by ship, then driving 3,600 kilometres across the Nullabor Plain, which took about five days.  A letter later arrived in the post from the Auto Cycle Council of Tasmania informing Bob that there had been a protest and, because both riders did not attend the tribunal hearing days later in Tasmania, officials decided to resolve the result on the toss of a coin, which went to Gaff.

In latter years, the ACU of Tasmania invited Bob to return to Tasmania to race both motocross and speedway there, but Bob refused and told them to “toss a coin and send him the results”.

In 1965, Bob won his second South Australian State Motocross title (in the Unlimited class), the WA State 500cc Motocross Championship and the famous AJS Scramble at Herne Hill, an event that was televised live each year.

The following year, Bob won back-to-back WA State 500cc Motocross Championships and the Manjimup Open at Cosy Creek.

In 1969, he won the Harley Scramble Marlboro Champion of Champions in York, plus Northam, Goldfields and Albany Open scrambles, breaking through to win the Harley Scramble in 1971 – his final year in motocross.  He also was the Runner-up WA State 250cc Motocross Champion that year.